We have a privilege this evening
of looking at the Word of God, and it is a privilege. And we
want to try to study Psalm 90, these 17 verses. I'm taking the
title for the message from the words found in verse 12. So teach us. TO NUMBER OUR DAYS. WOULDN'T THAT BE A GOOD LESSON
IF THE LORD WOULD BE OUR TEACHER THIS EVENING? LORD TEACH US,
TEACH US THE WAY OF MERCY, TEACH US THE WAY OF GRACE, TEACH US
THAT WE'RE BUT FRAIL CREATURES, THAT WE MAY SUE FOR MERCY, THAT
WE MAY APPLY, APPLY, CAUSE TO COME, THE MARGINAL REFERENCE.
THAT WE MAY APPLY OUR HEARTS UNTO WISDOM. WE KNOW THAT CHRIST
IS THE WISDOM IN HIM ARE HID ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM AND
KNOWLEDGE. SO TEACH US, LORD, SEEING AND
KNOWING THE FRAILTIES AND THE SINFULNESS OF OUR FLESH AND THE
SHORTNESS OF THIS LIFE. LORD, TEACH US. TEACH US. TEACH US THE GOSPEL OF YOUR GRACE
AND GLORY. REVEAL UNTO US THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST, HOW HE IS MADE UNTO US WISDOM, RIGHTEOUSNESS, SANCTIFICATION,
AND REDEMPTION. AS I SAID EARLIER, PSALM 90 IS
A PRAYER. IT'S A PRAYER OF MOSES. AND I LOVE THIS STATEMENT THAT
THE LORD SAYS OF MOSES AS WE READ IN DEUTERONOMY 33, THE MAN
OF GOD. MAN OF GOD. MOSES WAS GOD'S SERVANT,
GOD'S MAN. I LIKE WHAT THE LORD SAID TO
THOSE PHARISEES, HAD YOU BELIEVED MOSES, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BELIEVED
ME BECAUSE MOSES WROTE ABOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. MOSES
LIKE ALL BELIEVERS HAVE ONLY ONE HOPE. ONE HOPE, SINGLE HOPE. AND IT IS A GOOD HOPE THROUGH
GRACE IN CHRIST. HE IS OUR HOPE. THE SCRIPTURE
SAID THAT CHRIST IN YOU IS THE HOPE OF GLORY. WE HAVE A GOOD
HOPE, AND THAT HOPE IS A PERSON. THAT HOPE IS A PERSON, THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST. WE DON'T HOPE IN FEELINGS. WE
DON'T HOPE IN TRADITION OR CEREMONIES. THE HOPE OF OUR SALVATION IS
ALL VESTED, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT, LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL IN CHRIST
ALONE. most of the commentators believe
that moses wrote and prayed this prayer while spending 40 years
in the wilderness think of all the things that he had seen even
the miracles in the wilderness the water out of the rock THAT
BRAZEN SERPENT LIFTED UP WHEN THEY WERE BITTEN, AND THEY LOOKED
AT THAT SERPENT AND WERE HEALED. BUT YOU THINK OF ALL THE THINGS
THAT MOSES OBSERVED WATCHING SO MUCH REBELLION AND UNBELIEF
OF ISRAEL TAKING PLACE, AND THEN SEEING A WHOLE GENERATION OF
PEOPLE DIE BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF. THEY DID NOT ENTER INTO THE PROMISED
LAND BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF. But they did not believe God. When they camped there at Kadesh
Barnea, and they sent those 12 spies 40 days into the land to
spy out the land, and they came back, and Joshua and Caleb said,
oh, it's a good land. We can take it. Let us go. The
Lord is with us. And those 10 men said, no way.
There's giants in the land. We had no way. AND GOD GAVE HIM
40 YEARS FOR THOSE 40 DAYS, AND THE WHOLE GENERATION DIED WITH
THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE MEN THAT WERE 20 YEARS AND OLDER EXCEPT
JOSHUA AND CALEB, THE FAITHFUL DOG AND THE SAVIOR, AND THAT'S
A PICTURE OF THE GOSPEL IN ITSELF. NOW ONE THING IS CERTAIN WHEN
YOU READ THIS PSALM, WE SEE THE FRAILTIES OF, AND LET'S MAKE
IT PERSONAL, THE FRAILTIES OF YOU AND ME, THE FRAILTIES OF
OUR FLESH, AND WE ALSO SEE THE ETERNALITY AND HOLINESS OF OUR
GOD. HE IS ETERNAL. THIS BODY OF FLESH
IS TEMPORARY AT BEST. NOW, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT VERSE
1. LORD, THOU HAST BEEN, THOU HAST BEEN OUR DWELLING PLACE
IN ALL GENERATIONS. THERE'S JUST ONE PLACE WHERE
SINNERS CAN HIDE. THERE'S JUST ONE PLACE WHERE
WE HAVE A SOLID REFUGE, HIDING PLACE WHERE WE DWELL. HE IS OUR
DWELLING PLACE. LORD, THOU HAST BEEN OUR DWELLING
PLACE. IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE
OUR BEING. WE HAVE NO PERMANENT DWELLING
PLACE HERE IN THIS LIFE. We have a house to live in, but
one day it'll be gone. We have this tabernacle of flesh
that we live in, but one day it will go back to the dust. I was reading earlier today about
Abraham there in Genesis 11 and Genesis 12 and Genesis 13. And that says over there in the
book of Hebrews that he was a stranger and a sojourner here on this
land looking for a city. WHOSE BUILDER AND MAKER IS GOD. TO THE BELIEVER RESTING IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST, HE HAS BEEN OUR DWELLING PLACE FROM ALL ETERNITY. GOD HAS ALWAYS VIEWED HIS COVENANT
PEOPLE IN CHRIST AS WE WERE CHOSEN IN HIM BEFORE THE FOUNDATION
OF THE WORLD. ALL WHO BELIEVE IN Rest in the
Lord Jesus Christ. They dwell in him and he dwells
in us You remember John 17 I in them and thou in me that we may
be one together in him We dwell in him and he dwells in us. He
is our dwelling place. I We have dwelt in Him as His
covenant people secretly from all eternity, chosen in Him before
the foundation of the world. We dwelt in Christ when He was
crucified for us at Calvary. When He died, we died. When He
was buried, we were buried. And when He was raised again,
we were raised up in Him. We're crucified with Christ because
we're one with Him. AND WE DWELL WITH HIM EVEN NOW
AS HE IS SEATED IN THE HEAVENLIES, WE ARE SEATED IN THE HEAVENLIES
IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HE'S ONE WITH US. THAT'S WHY
WE TALK ABOUT THE VITAL UNION BELIEVERS HAVE WITH THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST. HE'S BEEN THE LORD JEHOVAH ALMIGHTY
GOD, GOD OUR SAVIOR. THOU HAST BEEN OUR DWELLING PLACE,
OUR REFUGE, OUR HIDING PLACE. in all generations. There's no
other hiding place. God only provided one Savior,
one salvation, one faith, one Lord, one gospel, and that's
Christ himself. Now look at verse 2. Before the
mountains, before the mountains were brought forth, one day God
created everything out of nothing. He spoke and it was done. before the mountains were brought
forth, before God ever created anything, or ever thou hast formed
the earth or the world. From everlasting to everlasting. Eternity past, eternity future. God inhabits eternity, we read
in the book of Isaiah. From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. Before creation, he said, I am
God, beside me there is no other. Before creation, when there was
nothing but God, nothing but God, he loved his own with an
everlasting love. When there was nothing but God,
he determined to save sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ. Before
Adam ever sinned, The Lord Jesus Christ stood as a lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. When there was nothing but God,
the Lord Jesus Christ stood as a charity and sacrifice of that
everlasting covenant of grace that's ordered in all things.
And aren't you glad it's sure? Aren't you glad it's not conditioned
upon the frailties of the flesh? WE WOULD HAVE NO GOOD HOPE AT
ALL, WOULD WE? BUT BASED UPON THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST, FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING, THOU ART GOD. GOD ALONE IS GOD. THERE'S NO
ONE ELSE. HE SAID, BESIDE ME, THERE IS
NO OTHER GOD. GOD IS GOD IN ALL THINGS, OVER
ALL THINGS. CREATION, NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT,
RIGHT? CREATED ALL THINGS BY THE WORD
OF HIS POWER. IN PROVIDENCE, HE'S THE GOD OF
PROVIDENCE. Everything that comes to pass comes to pass by his
decree. And certainly he's a God of salvation.
He said, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy. From everlasting to everlasting.
God is unchanging in his person. God is unchanging in his purpose.
He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. He's
unchanging in his redemption. God is purposed to save his people
with an everlasting salvation. He gives his people what kind
of life? Everlasting life. My sheep, he
said, I give them eternal life and they shall never, never perish. Now what a contrast between everlasting
to everlasting to teach us to number our days. You see what
the contrast is? That's a big contrast, is it
not? WITH GOD THERE IS NO BEGINNING,
HE'S THE ALPHA, HE'S THE OMEGA, HE'S THE BEGINNING, HE'S THE
END. MAN IS SO FINITE AND FRAIL, SINFUL, THOU TURNETH MAN TO DESTRUCTION. WHO DOES IT? THE LORD SAID I
KILL, I MAKE ALIVE, I THE LORD DO ALL THESE THINGS. THOU TURNETH
MAN TO DESTRUCTION AND GOD SAYS RETURN. Now when God said your
days are determined of the Lord, when God said it's appointed
unto men want to die after that judgment, it shall be. Thou turnest
man to destruction and God says return. No puny creature was
gonna stick his finger in the face of almighty God when it
comes that appointed time and say, I'm not gonna die. When God calls, you'll answer. I will too, every man will. Back
to the dust. Dust thou art and dust thou shall
return. Man, days are determined of the
Lord. I kill, I make alive, I wound,
I heal. I the Lord do all these things.
When sin is finished with this body, there's nothing left but
death. That's what's happening to our
dear brother right now in the hospital, death. DEATH. DEATH IS UPON HIS BODY. AND IT'S
WORKING IN ALL OF US, IS IT NOT? WORKING IN ALL OF US. ONE DAY
WE'LL BE THERE AS WELL. LOOK AT VERSE FOUR. FOR A THOUSAND
YEARS IN THY SIGHT, A THOUSAND YEARS IN THY SIGHT ARE BUT YESTERDAY. BOY, YESTERDAY WENT BY QUICK,
DIDN'T IT? I CAN HARDLY EVEN REMEMBER WHAT
YESTERDAY WAS LIKE. I KNOW IT WAS TUESDAY. But 1,000
years in God's side is just yesterday. You see, God from everlasting
to everlasting, he's not a creature of time. God inhabits eternity. We are creatures of time. But
1,000 years, humanly speaking, to God is just nothing. When you consider how long eternity
is, what's 1,000 years? It's just yesterday. When it
is past, and when it is past, it's just as a watch in the night,
a watch in the night, a very short, short period. 1,000 years,
but one day with our eternal God. Man, days are like a flower.
They bloom, and it soon withered, withered away. Turn over here
to Psalm 39. I'm gonna get a message here
on Psalm 39. One of these days. But look at
Psalm 39, verse four. Lord, make me to know my end.
You see Psalm 39, verse four. And to measure my days, what
it is, that I might know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast
made my days as a hand breath. You know what a hand breath is?
A span is from the elbow to the index finger. A span, a hand
breath is just a span of your hand. That's a short span, is
it not? BEHOLD, THOU HAST MADE MY DAYS
AS A HANDBREATH. MY AGE IS AS NOTHING BEFORE THEE. VERILY, EVERY MAN AT HIS BEST
STATE, AT HIS BEST STATE, ALL TOGETHER, VANITY OF VANITY. ALL THINGS ARE VANITY. LOOK WHAT IT SAYS IN VERSE 5,
THOU CARRIEST THEM AWAY With a flood our days are just gonna
be carried away when God sends a flood of his anger his wrath
They are as asleep in the morning. They're like grass which is grown
up in the morning It flourishes it grows in the evening gets
cut down and withered and we are consumed we are consumed
by that anger and by thy wrath and then it says that Down in
verse 9, for all our days are past, away in thy wrath, we spend
our years as a tale that is told. I was watching one of those history
shows and they were talking about the hermit of the Superstition
Mountains. And they talked about this hermit
and all of his life and where he's from and what he did and
his education, all of his work history, his family and everything
about him. It's a tale that was told. And
now it's gone. And now he's gone. Many years
ago. But that's the frailty of the
flesh, is it not? Like a flood carries everything
away like in Noah's day, nothing survived but those in the ark. And that's our only hope, that
ark is Christ. Like sleep that is soon forgotten
like a dream or sound sleep that goes by so quickly and then the
morning is here. And then verse six, all flesh
is grass, it withers. IT WITHERS AWAY TO NOTHING. LOOK AT VERSE 8, WE ARE CONSUMED
BY THY ANGER, AND BY THY WRATH WE ARE TROUBLED GOD WHOLLY, AND
GOD MUST PUNISH SIN. NOTICE VERSE 8, THOU HAST SET
OUR INIQUITIES BEFORE THEE, AND OUR SECRET SINS IN THE LIGHT
OF THY COUNTENTS. Now, apart from the Lord Jesus
Christ, we have no atonement for sin. The only way God can
look on us and deal with us in mercy is for the Lord Jesus Christ
to put away our sin by the sacrifice of himself. And that's what has
happened. Look over here to Psalm 103. Psalm 103. The Lord is merciful, verse 8,
and gracious, slow to anger, plenteous in mercy. He will not
always chide, neither will he keep his anger forever. He has
not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to
our iniquity. For as the heaven is high above
the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. FAR
AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST, SO FAR HATH HE REMOVED OUR TRANSGRESSION
FROM US." YOU REMEMBER HE SAID, THEIR SIN AND THEIR INIQUITY
WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE. APART FROM THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
AND HIM CRUCIFIED, WE HAVE NO ATONEMENT FOR SIN. BECAUSE GOD
SAID, THOU HAST SET OUR INIQUITIES BEFORE THEE, AND OUR SECRET SINS
ARE NOT HID IN HIS SIGHT. THIS IS A GOD WITH WHOM WE HAVE
TO DO. Verse nine, all our days are passed away in thy wrath
and we just spend. Spend to the end, don't we? You
might as well spend it. You're not gonna take it with
you. We brought nothing into this world and we're gonna take
nothing out. Not in this flesh. Spend to the
end, buy till you die. That's what we do. Shop till
you drop. Spend to the end, that's what
we do. We spend our years of the tale that is told. That's
the end of this flesh. Verse 10, look at this. If we're blessed of God, the
days of our years, three score, that's 60 plus 10. One score
is 10, three. Three score, excuse me, a score
is 20. Three score years and 10, that's
70. And if by reason of the Lord's
long-suffering and mercy, it'll be four score years, yet there's what? Labor and sorrow. And if God gives us any strength
in those years, it's still labor and sorrow. For it is soon, if
we have 80 years, 85, 90, it's soon cut off. WHAT IS 90 YEARS IN THE LIGHT
OF ETERNITY. SO HE LIVES 100 YEARS OLD. EVERYBODY
THINKS, WELL, HE'S 100 YEARS. MOSES WAS 120 YEARS OLD. FOR IT IS SOON CUT OFF AND WE
FLY AWAY. IT IS SOON CUT OFF. THE BELIEVER
FLIES AWAY TO BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER. WHEN THE LORD TOOK MOSES
THEREON, THE MOUNTAIN, AND BURIED HIS BODY, BACK TO THE DUST IT
WENT. BUT MOSES, WHO, REMEMBER, ONE
TIME APPEARED ON THE MOUNTAIN OF TRANSFIGURATION WITH THE LORD?
MOSES AND ELIJAH? FOR THE BELIEVER WE FLY AWAY
TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD,
TO LIVE AS CHRIST AND TO DIE Don't weep for me, my friend. Don't weep for me. Weep for yourself,
but don't weep for me. We don't weep for believers.
When they die, we rejoice because they're with the Lord. The days
of our sorrow are over. The day there'd be no more sickness,
no more tears, no more sighing. ONE DAY OF GLORIOUS WORSHIP WITHOUT
THIS SINFUL FLESH. THE UNBELIEVER ALSO FLIES AWAY
TO MEET GOD IN JUDGEMENT, TO MEET GOD IN ETERNAL JUDGEMENT. HOW SAD IS THAT? THE LORD JESUS
CHRIST, AND HERE'S THE BELIEVER'S HOPE, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TOOK
OUR SIN TO HIMSELF, BEARER OF SIN IN HIS OWN BODY ON THE TREE,
CONSUMED THE WRATH OF GOD FOR US, HE TOOK THE CUP OF WRATH
AND DAMNATION, AND HE DRANK IT DRY. ALL OUR SINS WERE UPON HIM. HE ENDURED THE WRATH OF GOD,
HE ENDURED THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, AND HE PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SACRIFICE
OF HIMSELF. THEREFORE THERE IS THEREFORE
NOW IN CHRIST, THERE'S NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE IN HIM." YOU SEE, OUR
SIN HAS BEEN DEALT WITH IN OUR SUBSTITUTE. GOD DEALT WITH OUR
SIN IN A HOLY AND A JUST WAY IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS OUR
SUBSTITUTE. LOOK AT VERSE 11, WHO KNOWS THE
POWER OF HIS ANGER? EVEN ACCORDING TO THY FIERCENESS,
SO IS THY WRATH. YOU KNOW WHO REALLY KNOWS THE
POWER OF GOD'S ANGER? I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS. YOU KNOW
WHO REALLY KNOWS AND EXPERIENCES THE POWER OF GOD'S HOLY ANGER
AND WRATH? THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF. AWAKE, O SWORD. DO YOU REMEMBER?
AGAINST THE MAN THAT IS MY FELLOW, THE SHEPHERD. SMITE THE SHEPHERD.
SAVE THE LORD. AND THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED THERE
ON CALVARY. AND THE LORD CRIES OUT, MY GOD,
MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? AND THE ANSWER COMES BACK,
SIN. GOD MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US.
WHO KNEW NO SIN THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF
GOD IN HIM. WHO KNOWETH THE POWER OF HIS
ANGER? THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND THE FIERCENESS OF HIS WRATH?
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST DID THERE ON CALVARY'S TREE. SO, VERSE
12 SAYS THIS, LORD TEACH US. KNOWING THE ETERNALITY OF HIS
PERSON, KNOWING THE HOLINESS OF HIS CHARACTER, KNOWING THAT
GOD MUST PUNISH SIN IN US OR IN OUR SUBSTITUTE. THE WAGES
OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS. I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ONE DAY
LEFT. TOMORROW. TOMORROW MAY NEVER
COME. THE LORD MAY CALL US TONIGHT.
SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS THAT WE MAY APPLY OUR HEARTS
TO WISDOM. TO WISDOM. THAT'S CHRIST. THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST. SEEK MERCY WHERE IT'S FOUND.
SEEK MERCY WHERE IT'S FOUND IN CHRIST. LOOK AT VERSE 13. THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING
OF WISDOM. TEACH US, LORD, TO TRUST THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST AND TO LOOK TO HIM. LORD, TEACH US TO COME
TO HIM WHO IS OUR WISDOM AND OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. ALL THOSE
WHO HAVE HEARD AND LEARNED OF THE FATHER, THEY COME TO THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOU REMEMBER? JOHN CHAPTER 6, LOOK AT VERSE
13. concerning thy servants. How
long, Lord, will you deal with your people in anger and wrath?
How long, O Lord? Show us thy mercy. Repent thee
concerning thy servants. Verse 14, O satisfy us early
with thy mercy. that we may rejoice and be glad
all the days of our life. You remember across the page
over there in Psalm 92, for thou, Lord, hast made me glad through
thy work, I will triumph in the works of thy hand. O Lord, how
great are thy works, and thy thoughts are very deep toward
us. Satisfy us early with thy mercy. THAT WE MAY REJOICE AND BE GLAD. I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID TO
ME, LET'S GO TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. WE REJOICED IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HAD NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH. VERSE
15, PSALM 90, MAKE US GLAD ACCORDING TO THE DAYS WHEREIN THOU HAST
AFFLICTED US. YOU KNOW, BEFORE THERE'S GLADNESS
AND REJOICING IN THE LORD, DO YOU KNOW WHAT BECOMES BEFORE
GLADNESS AND HAPPINESS? CONVICTION. OVER SIN, BROKENNESS OVER SIN,
AND THEN COMES HEALING. HE SAID I'M THE LORD, I WOUND
AND I HEAL. HE BREAKS AND THEN HE RAISES
UP. HE KILLS AND THEN HE MAKES ALIVE.
MAKE US GLAD ACCORDING TO THE DAY WHEREIN THOU HAST AFFLICTED
US. YOU KNOW IT'S A GOOD THING TO
BE AFFLICTED OF THE LORD. WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH
AND SCOURGETH EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVETH. LORD, IS NIGH THEM
OF A BROKEN HEART. SAVE US SUCH AS BE OF A CONTRAST
SPIRIT. MAKE US GLAD ACCORDING TO THE
DAYS WHEREIN THOU HAST AFFLICTED US, AND THE YEARS WHEREIN WE
HAVE SEEN EVIL. LORD, HELP US TO SEE THE GOODNESS
OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING. REMEMBER, DAVID SAID,
BELIEVED TO SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD IN THE LAND OF THE
LIVING, I WOULD HAVE PERISHED. THE LORD BLESSED US TO SEE THE
GOODNESS OF THE LORD EVEN THOUGH WE'VE SEEN EVIL DAYS, HAVEN'T
WE? WE'VE SEEN EVIL YEARS, HAVEN'T WE? WE SEE EVIL ALL ROUND US
AND IN US. LOOK AT VERSE 16, LET THY WORK
APPEAR UNTO THY SERVANT. LET THY WORK APPEAR TO THY SERVANT. WHAT IS THIS WORK HERE? WELL,
IT'S THE WORK OF REDEMPTION. IT'S THE WORK OF SALVATION. AND
THY GLORY UNTO THY CHILDREN. MOSES PRAYED TO THE LORD IN EXODUS
33, LORD, SHOW ME YOUR GLORY AND I'LL BE HAPPY. AND THE LORD
SPEAKED TO HIM, SAID, I WILL HAVE MERCY UPON WHOM I WILL HAVE
MERCY. LET THY WORK APPEAR UNTO THY
SERVANT AND THY GLORY UNTO THE CHILDREN, UNTO THEIR CHILDREN. and let the beauty, the beauty
of holiness, the beauty of the Lord, the Lord our God be upon
us, established out of the work of our hands in Christ. There's a reference here that's
given on that verse. Let me see if I can find it quickly
for you. David said, one thing have I
desired of the Lord and that will I seek after. THAT I MAY
DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, TO BEHOLD
THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD, TO INQUIRE IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE. FOR IN THE
TIME OF TROUBLE HE SHALL HIDE ME IN HIS PAVILION, IN THE SECRET
OF HIS TABERNACLE SHALL HE HIDE ME, HE SHALL SET ME UPON THE
ROCK. LET THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD, OUR
GOD, BE UPON US." BOY, THAT'S A GOOD PRAYER, ISN'T IT? THE
BEAUTY OF HIS SALVATION, THE BEAUTY OF HIS PERSON. AND THEN
UPON THAT, SOMEONE SAID, LET THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD BE WITH
US. HE IS WHITE AND RUDDY, THE CHIEFEST AMONG TEN THOUSAND,
ALL TOGETHER LOVELY, FAIRER THAN THE CHILDREN OF MEN. LET HIM
APPEAR AS EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US. TO YOU WHO BELIEVE, He is precious, is he not? Let
the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. Let not thine anger
and thy wrath be upon us. Let the beauty of the Lord be
upon us, and then establish us. May we be rooted and grounded
in the Lord Jesus Christ, established out of the work of our hands.
Now, he's not saying here that the ground of salvation is the
work of our hands. That would be contrary to the
whole message of the gospel, would it not? But establish us. You see, the work of our hands,
you remember Paul said, I am what I am by the grace of God,
and it wasn't me that really labored, but it was Christ in
me, you remember? Established are the work of our
hands upon us. Yea, the work of our hands Establish
that. Establish that. Or someone said,
direct the work of our hands or bless the work of our hands. Remember, we studied in 1 Corinthians
15. Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be you steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor in the Lord
is not in vain. AND MY PRAYER FOR US. LORD, ESTABLISH
THIS MINISTRY. HE'S WATCHED OVER US THESE MANY
YEARS TOGETHER AND ESTABLISHED US HERE. HE'S ESTABLISHED HIS
WORD. ESTABLISH THE MINISTRY HERE,
LORD. GUIDE US, DIRECT US, BLESS US IN OUR MINISTRY, IN OUR EFFORTS
FOR YOUR GLORY. LORD, YOU DO IT. YOU ESTABLISH
THE WORK. We are His workmanship created
in the Lord Jesus Christ unto good, good works.